Moody's (MCO) Expected to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Key Points

• Moody’s is expected to report Q3 2026 results before the market opens on October 21, with analysts forecasting $4.24 in EPS and $2.07 billion in revenue. The company’s full-year 2026 EPS guidance is $16.50–$17.00.
• In the prior quarter, Moody’s beat earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $4.68 EPS and $2.19 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 15.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $558.11, although some firms recently lowered targets. Moody’s also pays a $1.03 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.9%.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) is anticipated to release its Q3 2026 results before the market opens on Wednesday, October 21st. Analysts expect Moody's to post earnings of $4.24 per share and revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Parties can find conference call details on the company's upcoming Q3 2026 earnings report for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody's's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Moody's to post $16.95 EPS for the current fiscal year and $18.80 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $464.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $80.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $477.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.89. Moody's has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Moody's from $512.00 to $470.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.11.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, and analytical tools. Through Moody's Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of companies, governments, financial institutions, and structured finance securities, offering opinions and research used by investors, issuers, and other market participants.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, risk assessment tools, data, and software. Its products support credit and market risk management, compliance, portfolio analysis, lending, insurance, and corporate planning.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody published an analysis of railroad securities.

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